Aug. 8, 2014 at 2:06pm
City Manager's Update August 8, 2014

Captain Engle Represents PPD at Carlton Complex Fire

Captain Scott Engle represented the Puyallup Police Department in his role as an Incident Commander for the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management’s Type III Incident Command Team in Okanagan, to support the efforts battling the Carlton Complex Fire. Captain Engle’s team assisted in the operation of the Emergency Operations Center. After their six-day deployment, they effectively turned the event back over to the local jurisdiction. Captain Engle’s team received great reviews for organizing the efforts to manage the myriad of issues surrounding the fire, as well as the impacts on the local communities.

Comm Center Technology Upgrades

South Sound 911 (SS911) recently agreed to purchase 3 additional dispatch consoles to be installed at the City’s Communications Center to facilitate the backup of SS911. This work is in conjunction with the 911 phone upgrade/expansion being conducted by the Pierce County Emergency 911 office. City staff is managing/overseeing this project. The upgrade and equipment were provided at no additional cost to the City, and SS911 is responsible for maintenance.

These 3 additional consoles will provide our center with 11 dispatch consoles. At this time, we use only 4-5 on a given shift, with the exception of the fair when 6-7 are in use. Of these 11 consoles, 7 of them are full dispatch positions with radios and 911 phone capability, and the remaining 4 consoles are 911 phone positions. This not only provides our center with increased capacity during emergencies within our city or contract cities, the Comm Center will have the ability to backup SS911 and provides a better avenue for the discussion of Puyallup being the final backup strategy for SS911 in the future.

National Night Out Against Crime

On August 5th, the Puyallup Police Department, Central Pierce Fire and Rescue, and members of the Puyallup City Council, participated in National Night Out Against Crime. Between 4:00 and 9:00 pm, 18 different neighborhood block parties were visited throughout the City, and great food and conversation awaited at each party.

This marks the 31st year for this annual event and over 300 citizens turned out at the various neighborhood locations. This is the highest level of citizen participation that the department has seen in recent years. PPD’s Chief for a Day, 9-year old Grayson Gochanour and his family joined the festivities as well. It proved to be a fantastic evening interacting with those we serve.

New Jury Summons Notification System at Municipal Court

In this age of technologies that increase efficiency, the Court has been pleased with the results of the new jury summons notification system, developed in partnership with the City’s IT Department.

Database Systems Administrator Eric Tague worked closely with court staff to learn about the jury summons process and procedures. With knowledge of those processes, IT staff developed the Jury Summons Notification System which has been in use for the past few months. The court’s Jury Clerk sends out monthly jury summons letters for both Puyallup and Milton Courts. This is no small task as the Court issues approximately 325 jury summons letters to citizens each month. A large number of letters are mailed because approximately 40% of potential jurors will either be excused for hardships or determined ineligible for service and another 20% of the letters come back as post office returns.

As juror responses are returned, the new system is used to track eligible jurors for each Court. It also calculates and pre-fills round-trip mileage traveled by jurors, and prints the invoices for payments at the end of the service period.

This application has been extremely helpful in overall management of the jury summons process. Additionally, because the application was developed “in-house,” the Court has saved $8,000 in 2014 trial court improvement funds that were anticipated to be spent enlisting a vendor to perform those services. Kudos to our IT Department and Eric for assisting with development and implementation of this important project!

PPD Welcomes New Officer

The Puyallup Police Department welcomed Officer David Beerbower to the force on August 1st. Officer Beerbower comes to the PPD from the Kent PD, where he worked for six years. Officer Beerbower served in the Marine Corps prior to joining Kent. Welcome Officer Beerbower!

Investment Grade Audit

University Mechanical, a registered Energy Services Company, has entered into an agreement with the City to perform an investment grade audit to target energy conservation measures for all City buildings and mechanical systems. The audit will be performed over the next several weeks and will include all city-owned streetlights. The goal is to utilize the audit findings and submit for energy efficiency grant money offered by the State’s Department of Commerce. The deadline for grant applications is September 18th. Grant funding, in conjunction with other financing options, will be utilized to complete potential city-wide energy conservation projects.

Hearing Examiner Public Hearings

The City Hearing Examiner will hold two public hearings on August 19th at 11:00 am:

· A request by Verizon to install a wireless antenna on a ball field light standard at the Puyallup Recreation Center on Valley Avenue, and

· A Shoreline Substantial Development Permit request for proposed street frontage work along East Pioneer, in the vicinity of Clark’s Creek (a designated Shoreline area), on the WSU Puyallup Research & Extension Center property.

Planner Chris Beale (841-5418) is the case planner and contact for these applications. Members of the public are welcome to attend and/or provide testimony at any Hearing Examiner hearing, which are held in the City Hall 5th Floor Council Chambers.

Edward Jones at City Hall

A new tenant will soon occupy 1,150 square feet of retail office space at City Hall. Edward Jones Investment recently signed a 10-year lease for the vacant first floor space. Tenant improvements are underway and the new business is expected to move in by October 1st. Now that the larger space has been leased, two smaller, office/retail spaces remain available. Between Edward Jones and Subway, a 700 square foot space is available and Gallery 3 will be vacating their 650 square foot space, adjacent to the City Hall lobby, as of August 15th. The previous Gallery 3 space is a very desirable location and will be listed for lease immediately.

Meet Graham Nash

Legendary singer-songwriter and author, Graham Nash, will be at the Puyallup Public Library for a program and book signing event on September 13th at 12:30 pm in the Library meeting rooms. In his autobiography, Wild Tales, Graham Nash - founding member of the iconic bands Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Hollies - delivers an engrossing, no-holds-barred look back at his remarkable career and the music that defined a generation.

This event is FREE and open to the public, no registration is required. Seating will be limited. Doors will open at 12:00 noon.

Mid-Summer Carnival

Puyallup Parks and Recreation held their mid-summer carnival on July 23rd. The carnival was moved indoors to the Pavilion, due to poor weather, but it didn’t dampen the fun! The carnival featured games, prizes, face painting, crafts, cotton candy, and happy kids! The carnival was followed by the ribbon cutting of the new playground in Pioneer Park (more happy kids) and a concert by award-winning performer Bill Harley. The concert was sponsored by the Puyallup Public Library and the families in attendance enjoyed the concert featuring family songs and stories. Over 600 people braved the weather to attend these fun events!

The Pioneer Park Playground Ribbon Cutting event was recently featured on Pierce County Television (PCTV). You can find the video on youtube at the following link: http://youtu.be/wpUg8UDwh6w

Lahar Warning System

The City of Puyallup participates in the on-going evaluation of the Lahar Warning System with Pierce County Emergency Management. Emergency Management, in conjunction with the County, consistently explores ways to improve and upgrade the siren system and operational protocols in order to identify both mechanical and procedural improvements. The monthly test of the Lahar sirens are conducted on the first Monday of the month in the City of Puyallup.

Daycamp – Camp Yougottawanna

Day Camp was at capacity with 100 kids for Wild Waves week and they had a blast! Campers also went swimming at the Puyallup High School Pool, had a water balloon fight, made cotton candy, and ended the week with a BBQ lunch. To finish out the summer, day camp will be heading to Tiffany’s Skating Rink, Laser Tag, Bullwinkle’s Family Fun Center, and our annual overnight slumber party!

Development Services Update

Within the past two weeks, City Development Review staff held pre-application meetings with applicants interested in the following potential development projects:

· A proposed 13-lot single-family home subdivision of an 8.2 acre site located in the 2800 block of 23rd Avenue SE.

· A proposed residential subdivision of a vacant parcel on the SE corner of 15th Avenue SW-9th Street SW.

The City is currently working with interested property owners on a potential annexation area around the SW corner of 9th Street SW-39th Avenue SW. This effort is associated with the City’s ongoing widening project of 39th Avenue SW in the vicinity of Costco (9th Street to 17th Street SW). In preparing for this road project, interest has been expressed by some of the land owners in annexing certain parcels on the south side of 39th Avenue SW, across from Costco. Most parcels on the south side of that roadway segment are currently unincorporated, but within the City’s Urban Growth Area. Within the next few days, the City will be sending out notification to a number of property owners in this area, inquiring as to whether they would be interested in joining such an annexation effort and providing background information on the process. Based upon the feedback received, an actual annexation area will be finalized and the City will move forward with this effort. Planner Katie Baker (435-3604) can respond to any questions about annexation.

Hounds on the Hill

Participants will have a great time letting their dogs romp around Bradley Lake Park (on leashes of course!), on Saturday, August 23rd. A 2-mile walk is planned, which will head out at 9:30 am from the picnic area, continue around the lake, and wrap back twice to finish at the picnic area. The day will also include fun dog activities and visiting vendors. Additional details and a full schedule of events may be found at www.houndsonthehill.org. The Hounds on the Hill event is a partnership between the Puyallup South Hill Rotary and the City of Puyallup.

Street Maintenance Update

The Public Works Street Division has seen an increase of its in-house asphalt patching – using a little over 1,000 tons to date this year. The amount of patching necessary has gradually increased each year since road maintenance funds became limited in 2011. 2010 was the last year an asphalt road maintenance contract for paving was funded and only one half mile of the yearly targeted eight miles was accomplished that year. Additional funding sources for street maintenance will be discussed at the August 26th City Council Study Session.

Fill The Canoe School Supply Drive

Businesses and community groups in Puyallup are collecting back-to-school supplies in August for students in need. The effort is headed by Communities in Schools and the Puyallup School District. Red Canoe Credit Union will match pound-for-pound all new school supplies donated at the Red Canoe Credit Union at South Hill Mall, Puyallup City Hall, the Washington State Fair, Puyallup-Sumner Chamber of Commerce, and the Puyallup School District Education Service Center. The school supply drive runs from August 4-22.

Cheer Camp

Cheer camp was held at the Puyallup Recreation Center July 28th-August 1st and had 46 participants ages 5-11. Participants were taught school spirit, cheer skills, and dance moves from the Puyallup High School Cheerleaders. On the final day of camp, parents were treated to a Cheer Camp performance that demonstrated the cheers and skills that the participants had been taught throughout the week.

Outdoor Cinema Series

The Outdoor Cinema Series continued at Bradley Lake Park, on Friday, July 25th with a showing of “The Sandlot.” The movie was a crowd favorite with approximately 400 people in attendance. The cinema series continues into August with a showing of “Despicable Me 2” on August 8th, and “Planes” on August 22nd. Concessions are available for purchase and the shows starts at dusk!

Concerts in the Park

Concerts in the Park continue and are the place to be this summer! The series showcased the classic rock group “The Beatniks,” on July 24th and the classic R&B band “The New Blues Brothers,” on July 31st. Huge thanks to the Puyallup Police Department for “escorting” the New Blues Brothers to the stage in police cars - to a thrilled crowd!

The Noon Tunes series have been a hit with children’s acts, and the Bradley Lake Park series had 250 kids and their families show up for an encore performance from “Reptile Isle.” The concert series will wrap up in style, with shows from “Sway” and “Hells Belles.”

Clarks Creek Building Demolition

The old restroom building at Clarks Creek Park South has finally been demolished and the site has been restored to park land. The old building sat unused for several years and had become an attractive nuisance, suffering from repeated vandalism and graffiti. Through the hard work of Parks and Facilities staff; Ron (RC) Clowers, Glen Norman, and Bruce Koch, the building and its foundation has been removed and the site was returned to a more natural state using re-purposed wood chips from the recently replaced Pioneer Park play structure. It is important to note that the cost of this project was reduced by approximately $20,000, due to RC's work with Puget Sound Energy to solve power distribution issues and Glen and Bruce's excavation efforts. They don't construct buildings like they used to - parts of the concrete foundation, slab, and footings were up to 36" thick!

Free Self Defense Classes

The Activity Center is hosting a free self-defense class in the month of August, provided by the Edgewood Karate Academy. The sessions help demonstrate how karate can be a great form of exercise for people of all ages. The general public and City of Puyallup Employees are invited to attend a free session at the Activity Center on August 26th from 5:15 to 6:15 pm.

City-Owned Property, 9th and 31st - New Marketing Plan

The City-0wned 2.97 acres of property, located at the corner of 9th and 31st, has undergone a comprehensive planning process to target the sales and marketing efforts to potential builders and/or developers. Marketing materials will now reflect the development of two separate parcels for office buildings and shared parking; infrastructure and frontage improvements; and delineation of existing wetlands, storm tract area, and the requirements for development permits. The City's listing agent determined the property would be much more marketable with a development plan already in place. Look for new signage and minor cleanup on the property very soon.

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